Long Term CareLong Term CareA lack of reliable data about the direct care workforce is a challenge to the efforts to quantify concerns, identify priorities, implement solutions and evaluate outcomes. More data is needed on workforce volume, stability and compensation.
Several states took initial steps to improve direct care workforce data collection. Policymakers can look to state agencies and various professional organizations that collect workforce data.
California lawmakers in 2024 passed the Older Californians Act requiring the California Department of Aging, by Sept. 30, 2026, to use data from validated sources, including the U.S. census, to inform deliverables related to identification of core programs and services to be provided to older adults and family caregivers as well as the development of regulations related to area agencies on aging.
Legislation in Connecticut in 2024 authorized a study of workforce shortages, workforce development and training availability, including an analysis of the effects of those things on commercial activity in the state.
Hawaii lawmakers directed the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study on best practices for nurse staffing in health care facilities, which shall assess and discuss existing nursing staffing standards and regulations in other states, as well as a literature review of best practices for staffing and workforce development and successful efforts.
Illinois legislation creating a Certified Medication Aide Program run by the Department of Public Health requires a report regarding patient safety, efficiency and errors no later than one year after the full implementation of the program.
Maryland lawmakers approved a measure in 2024 to require residential service agencies to submit certain reports to the Maryland Department of Labor regarding wage rates for personal care aides on or before Sept. 1 each year, beginning in 2025. The measure also requires the Maryland Department of Health to provide an overview of the federal “Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services Final Rule” and report to designated committees of the General Assembly within 180 days of its release, detailing the department’s plans or steps to implement the rule.
Michigan’s legislation creating a home help caregiver council allows for the collection of statewide information and data related to the home help caregiver workforce, including, but not limited to:
The council will serve as a communications hub for the home help caregiver workforce to disperse information relevant to individual home help caregivers.
Alabama reconstituted the Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force, directing it to develop and prioritize recommendations to prepare the health care workforce to meet the rising need for dementia care.
Arizona’s ARPA spending plan proposed an investment in the Workforce Data Reporting System that will help state agencies monitor trends affecting recruitment and retention in the health care workforce.
Minnesota established the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, created to conduct investigations into working conditions in the nursing home industry and adopt rules establishing minimum employment standards reasonably necessary to protect the health and welfare of nursing home workers.
Minnesota required the commissioner of health to publish a report on the current status of the nursing workforce, established rules to reduce violence against health care workers such as: annual incident response action plans, training for health care workers on safety during acts of violence, and official procedures allowing health care workers to request additional staffing to reduce risks of violence in hospitals.
New Jersey established the Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care Long-Term Advisory Commission, which will report about the state’s long-term care facilities capacity and evaluate the sufficiency of the State’s dementia care workforce, including: identifying current and future workforce needs, anticipating future workforce shortages, and developing innovative strategies to encourage and increase the recruitment and retention of health care.
Oregon required health care providers to annually report to OR Health Authority the aggregate amount of compensation paid to frontline workers as wages, benefits, salaries, bonuses and incentive payments.
Pennsylvania directed the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to conduct a study on the effect of workforce shortages on State-supported Medicaid home and community-based services waiver programs and the Pennsylvania Lottery-funded area agency on aging programs and Act 150 services in this Commonwealth.
Wisconsin On behalf of the state, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (UW-GB) collects demographic information (including education, age, race, and gender) and tracks the number of individuals who complete the Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP) program, as well as the number of CDCPs who are employed by a home and community-based (HCBS) entity. Wisconsin Department of Health Services has an interagency agreement with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to conduct an evaluation of WisCaregiver Careers and the Certified Direct Care Professional program. The evaluation will be published in 2025.